E-Class Experience | Paris–Beijing 2006 21st October–27th October 2006 | Paris–St. Petersburg 1 St. Petersburg The E-Class Experience 2006 Berlin Paris Moscow Yekaterinburg Warsaw Stuttgart Astana 21st October Almaty th 27 October Ürümqi st st th 1 November Leg 1 | Paris–St. Petersburg 21 Oct.– 27 Oct. Beijing 6th November Lanzhou th st Leg 2 | St. Petersburg–Yekaterinburg 28 Oct.–1 Nov. 12th November Leg 3 | Yekaterinburg–Almaty 3rd Nov.–6th Nov. 17th November Leg 4 | Almaty–Lanzhou 8th Nov.–12th Nov. Leg 5 | Lanzhou–Beijing 14th Nov.–17th Nov. 21st October–27th October 2006 | Leg I: Paris–St. Petersburg Table of Content From Paris to St. Petersburg: “The Glamour of the Old World” 4 Saturday, 21st October Day 1 Paris–Stuttgart 663 km Wednesday, 25th October Day 5 Vilnius–Riga 335 km City Map Paris 8 City Map Vilnius 76 Map Paris–Stuttgart 9 Map Vilnius–Riga 77 Route Paris–Stuttgart 10 Route Vilnius–Riga 78 Sunday, 22nd October Day 2 Stuttgart–Berlin 649 km Thursday, 26th October Day 6 Riga–Tallinn 311 km City Map Stuttgart 30 City Map 86 Map Stuttgart–Berlin 32 Map Riga–Tallinn 87 Route Stuttgart–Berlin 32 Route Riga–Tallinn 88 Monday, 23rd October Day 3 Berlin–Warsaw 632 km Friday, 27th October Day 7 Tallinn–St. Petersburg 387 km City Map Berlin 46 City Map Tallinn 94 Map Berlin–Warsaw 47 Map Tallinn–St. Petersburg 95 Route Berlin–Warsaw 48 Route Tallinn–St. Petersburg 96 City Map St. Petersburg 105 Tuesday, 24th October Day 4 Warsaw–Vilnius 573 km City Map Warsaw 60 Map Warsaw–Vilnius 61 Route Warsaw–Vilnius 62 4 Leg I: Paris–St. Petersburg “The Glamour of the Old World” “Vive le prince! Vive Borghese!” cheered the people on the streets and boulevards of Paris on August 10, 1907. In the pouring rain, Prince Scipione Borghese was celebrated in his Itala as the winner of the first long-distance race in automotive history. Now, in 2006, the French capital is the start, and not the end, of another adventurous journey across Europe and Asia: the E-Class Experience Paris–Beijing 2006. Paris is a very appropriate starting point: The city on the Seine is not only France‘s political, economic and cultural centre, but also the birthplace of motor sport. The world‘s first car race started here in 1894, spanning some 126 kilometres from Paris to Rouen. The E-Class Experience, which leaves Paris for Beijing on October 21, 2006, is more than 100 times this distance. St. Petersburg Yekaterinburg Berlin Moscow Paris Warsaw Astana Almaty Stuttgart Beijing Ürümqi Lanzhou The first of five stages covers 3,400 kilometres. The route leads out of the city via Franconian Switzerland sets the picturesque scene on Day 2 of the tour. the Champs-Élysées, one of the world‘s most famous boulevards, and heads north- Numerous castles and mills are scattered brightly across the landscape. Around east to Nancy, whose historic city centre around Place Stanislaus is a UNESCO 1,000 caves invite you to embark on exciting journeys of discovery. The larg- World Heritage Site. The first destination is around 300 kilometres away: Stutt- est, known as the Devil‘s Cave, is situated in the small town of Pottenstein, gart. The capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg is a magnificent location, rich just 80 kilometres away from the highlight of the next day. Bayreuth owes its with centuries of wine growing tradition. The Swabian city is home to famous Ger- international fame to a famous son: Each year an international audience makes a man philosophers, poets and ingenious inventors. Among those who lived here pilgrimage to the Bayreuth Festival to experience the phenomenal opera music of were Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Schiller – and, last but not least, Richard Wagner. Tickets are only available to those who are prepared to part with Gottlieb Daimler, the great visionary of individual mobility. The History, present, a lot of money: The average waiting period is seven years. Whilst Bayreuth reflects and future of the automobile have now found an appropriate forum in an area of the musical history of Germany, the German capital symbolizes the history of the 53,000 square metres located in the new Mercedes-Benz World opened in 2006, country. Numerous memorials and buildings comemorate the past in and around with the Mercedes-Benz Museum at its heart. Berlin. However, the city has been undergoing continuous change since German Leg I: Paris–St. Petersburg | 5 Leg I: Paris–St. Petersburg | 6 reunification in 1989: scores of new buildings have been built and other projects are Vilnius it is around 300 kilometres to Riga, the capital of Latvia and Destination underway, some of them proceeding at a rapid pace. The metropolis is thus just as No. 5. Approximately half of this route uses European route E67, also known traditional as it is modern – and extremely lively by day and night alike. as the Via Baltica, which is 1,300 kilometres long and connects Warsaw with Helsinki. The destination for the day is the old Hanseatic city of Riga, whose On the way to Warsaw, the capital of Poland and the destination of Day 3, the magnificent art nouveau buildings place it in the same architectural league as journey passes by endless forests, beautiful nature preserves and a number of cities like Paris, Vienna or Brussels. rivers and lakes. The route is lined by great palaces, such as Rogalin Palace, which invites the visitor to make a short stop near the regional capital of Poznan. On Day 6, the E-Class Experience route follows the Riga bay towards Estonia on The journey continues into the heart of the country: Warsaw welcomes its the Via Baltica. The road here offers frequent views of the sea, finally reaching the visitors with impressive buildings and plenty of historical charm. The city also farthest north-eastern point of the once powerful Hanseatic League: Tallinn. The showcases itself as one of the most important economic and trade centres in Estonian capital, which is only a 90-minute ferry ride from the Finnish capital of Central and Eastern Europe – as testified by its modern buildings with their Helsinki, has a history that is both long and eventful. Danish, German, Swedish impressive architecture. and Russian rulers all left their mark on the city. The past is very much alive here as well: The medieval town centre, which has been preserved almost completely, Day 4 of the E-Class tour marks the entry into the Baltics. The historic was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. landscape of Podlaskie offers a wide variety of different sights. The journey continues further north through the fascinating “land of a thousand lakes”: The Narva River 200 kilometres east of Tallinn marks the temporary end of The beautiful Masuria region does not hold back its charm. Extensive forest the coastal route, as well as the start of a new leg of the journey on Day 7. areas and countless large and small lakes have made the region a popular This is where the border between the European Union and Russia lies, between holiday destination. Water-sport fans will find themselves in paradise around Hermannsburg on the Estonian side and the Russian fort of Ivangorod on the Masuria’s largest town, Elk. Many of the lakes are connected by rivers and Eastern bank. From Narva, it is only around one and a half hours’ drive to a city canals and invite you to take a lengthy paddle tour. A trip along the Augustow that epitomizes the glory of Russian tsardom: St. Petersburg. Designed as the canal, around 50 kilometres east of Elk, is particularly popular. Its sluices date „window to the West“ by Peter the Great more than 300 years ago, this former from the 19th century – a masterpiece of hydrotechnology by Polish engineers capital became one of the most influential European centres for politics, art and of the day. Just across the Polish-Lithuanian border, the architects of Vilnius culture under Catherine the Great. Great buildings, many of which are in the have also demonstrated their mastery. The Lithuanian capital, fondly dubbed magnificent Petersburg baroque style, still bear witness to this glamorous era. as „Italy of the Baltics“, is known for its unique, extensive old city centre The countless rivers and canals linking the 42 islands that form the city also give with nearly 1,500 historic buildings, many of which have been restored. From it a special flair and its well-deserved nickname of “Venice of the North”. Leg I: Paris–St. Petersburg 21st October Paris–Stuttgart 21st October Paris–Stuttgart CITY MAP PARIS Champs de Mars Saturday, 21st October | Day 1 | Paris–Stuttgart | 663 km | page 10 Place Jaques Rueff Avenue de Suffren Quai Branly Iena Bridge Avenue des Paris Nations Unies 0.00 0.18 0.63 0.85 1.09 0.18 0.45 0.22 0.24 0.27 ¸ WPT 01 WPT 02 WPT 03 WPT 04 WPT 05 Paris Traffic Regulations in France For centuries, the French capital has been the political, economic and cultural hub of the country. Over two 130 90 50 million people live in 20 districts and 80 quarters. • The following speed limits apply in wet weather: non-residential With the suburbs, Paris has as many as 11.5 million 80 km/h, motorways 110 km/h inhabitants. And every year, several million tourists • If the driver has held a driving licence for less than two years, visit the city. The city has about 160 museums and the speed limits are 80 km/h (non-residential), 100 km/h (highway) 200 art galleries, which provide art lovers with a broad and 110 km/h (motorway) range of activities.